Our Photograph
by Izzietheravenclaw83
Summary: One-Shot. The story begins following the storyline of tortured souls. Mayu and Morishige are destined to die, but are determined to change their fate. When a cell phone and a few choice photographs get involved, Mayu has a second chance to change an unjust fate. Mayu is determined to save Morishige from death...at all costs. Mayu x Morishige. Rated T for gore


Our Photograph

Mayu x Morishige

Description:

Morishige while taking photographs of corpses, he finds his best friend, Mayu Suzumoto's corpse. Unknowingly, he takes a photograph of her corpse, defining it as "The most spectacular" and is unaware that it is actually Mayu's corpse. Until he recieves the phone call. "Don't look at my insides, Shig." This sends Morishige into a fit of hysteria and causes him to take violent, desprate measures against the other captives of the Sachiko Ever After curse.

He attacks Yuka causing Yuuya Kizami, a man claiming to be Yuka's older brother to attack Morishige. While laying on the ground dying, Yuuya picks up Morishige's cell phone and snaps a picture of him dying. Yuuya grants his "Final wish."

As Morishige looks back through his moments at heavenly host elementry, an earthquake occurs and Morishige loses conciousness. Quickly thereafter, he wakes in a scrap-booked together Heavenly Host filled with the corpses he took pictures of.

He is aware that he is dying and he has a few last things to say to Mayu. Even if she is just a splatter on the wall.

XxX

She was there, in front of me. Just mere meters away yet, I was uncapable to move. _What was wrong with me? This was Mayu. The person who meant the most to me in the entire world. _"Shig?" She asked me smiling. "Everything OK?"

I curled my hands into fists and ground my teeth. _Move Dammit! _My body disobeyed my brain and stayed still. What could I have been so scared of? _Don't freeze, anytime, just not now. _

That's when I saw them, the three ghost children. A young girl no more than eight missing her left eye, a young boy presumably the same age who smiled through his ghost teeth and it became apparent he had no tounge. But, that wasn't the worst part, another child stood among them. I believe it was a girl, maybe a year younger than the other two, but I may have been wrong. To be honest, it was impossible to tell.

She had half her face cut clean off, right at the place where her top and bottom lips would have met, a clean circular cut removed the top of her head. A ghostly black aura shrouded any clues that could be given about her. The only thing I can say about her was that she was grimly smiling.

My breath caught in my throat. I opened my mouth to scream for her to run. No sound came. _Mayu, Run! _

Ghostly fingers wrapped themselves around my upper arm. "Shhh,watch." A young girl the same age as, maybe older than, the other two manifested behind me. She had long stringy black hair that fell in her eyes, which were the same colour as charcoal. She had a menecing aura to her that caused my heart to skip a beat or two. I couldn't breathe, wht couldn't Mayu see her?

"Shig, what's the matter?"

The three children behind Mayu reached out and grabbed her arms, her legs, and her hair. She turned her head quickly and screamed looking down at them and their grining faces. The children seemed to float as they dragged her at an almost superhuman speed into a wall.

Mayu seemed to move a little bit slower as if I was watching this happen in slow motion. Her face twisted in fear and pain, then with whatever strength she could manage she screamed one word. "Shig!"

The young girl released me and my legs no longer had the strength to hold me up. "Mayu..." My voice was no more audible than a whisper, and she was no more than a splat on a wall, no more than a pile of insides. If I had only been a few seconds quicker, she'd still be alive. I threw my head back in anguish and screamed.

XxX

"Mayu!"

Morishige woke with a start. It was the middle of the night, he looked at a nearby clock. 12:56am. His heart was racing out of his chest, and he couldn't remember why, all that he could remember was that it involved Mayu. A nightmare perhaps?

He sighed besides the fear in his entire body. It must have been a nightmare, why else would he have gotten this worked up? The only thing was that he couldn't remember any of it. It must have been one of those dreams that you can't remember two seconds after you wake up and you just think that you had a sleepless night.

Something wet rolled down his cheek and he reluctantly moved his hand up to touch it._ When did I start crying? _He wondered in silence.

Wiping away his own tears, he grabbed for his cell phone. Thinking maybe he could maybe catch up on what tomorrow's weather would be like, he felt himself drawn to his photos. He began to scroll through the photos, a few of tomorrow's culture festival, one of his cat, and then...one of Mayu. She looked so happy, he thought to himself. Why did tomorrow have to be her last day? Sadness filled him, they still had plenty of memories to make with her. She just couldn't be leaving.

As if on cue he recieved a phone call from Suzumoto Mayu. Why would she be calling this late at night? He could hardly contain his joy. Every moment they spent together began to feel like an eternity, and Morishige would have it no other way.

He snapped out of his daze. "Yes?" He asked to the person on the other end.

"Hello, is this Morishige-kun? This is the class president speaking." Mayu said in an impersanation of their class president, Ayumi Shinozaki.

Sighing loudly, he tapped his fingers along the desk. "Hello there, _Mayu." _

Laughing cutely, she smiled on the other end of the line. "You got me!"

"So what's up?"

Mayu lost herself in thought for a second. She couldn't remember why she'd called him. Something had scared her and she thought she'd call her best friend for support. Hoping not to wake him up she dialed the number she had memorized and began talking. "Oh yeah, I thought I'd wish you good luck with tomorrow's culture festival." She made up. "That's all I wanted to say. That's all..."

Mayu caught herself blushing in a nearby mirror, this caused her blush to deepen. Hiding her face from the mirror she stared at the floor.

"Tomorrow's the last day, right?" His voice seemed sad. "The last day you'll come to school."

Mayu became sad too and the blush disappeared. "Yeah." She closed her eyes to keep herself from crying.

"Oh well." Morishige's voice perked up. "Nothing's going to change, apart from your transfer. We'll just be commuting to different schools." He paused. "We can still call each other, like now."

"Yeah..."

"What," Morishige found himself holding back tears too. "You want to change it?"

Mayu jumped up in her seat. She began frantically shaking her head back and forth, though of course, he couldn't see that.

"What is it?"

Cupping the phone in her hands she lightly said. "I want nothing to change!" Though that wasn't entirely true.

Morishige leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes he said. "Good. Honesty is a virtue."

Mayu began laughing on the other end of the phone as if she'd heard him say that a thousand times and nothing was different with him saying it now.

Opening his eyes he became very serious. "That's why there is nothing to be afraid of, Mayu." His hair was messy and fell in his eyes when he spoke. "If anything happens, contact me right away."

"I will!"

He began tapping his fingers on the desk again. "Got it? If so, I'm hanging up. I'm rather busy, unlike you." A part of him wanted to keep talking with her until he was blue in the face, but a larger part required rest.

"I got it! See you tomorrow Shig, Good night!"

"Thanks." He closed his phone and began looking through the pictures again, stopping once again when he reached Mayu's. A smile crept across his face.

Mayu sat with her closed phone against her chest. "Thank you, Shig." She was blushing again just at the thought of seeing him tomorrow. What would she say? What would she do? Think about it caused her to grow very tired. Placing her phone on her desk she fell asleep.

XxX

"You see, If we do this then no matter how far apart we are, we'll always be friends." The class president, Ayumi Shinozaki said looking at Mayu. She held a paper doll in her hands as she looked at her.

Mayu realized this was directed at her and made a 'hmm' sound. Shinozaki smiled at her surprise. She had been represing the fact that today was her last day ever since her phone call the night before with Morishige.

"Shinozaki-san..." She looked at her friends, from Seiko who smiled and clasped her hands together, to Mochida-kun who answered his little sisters question about her. He explained that today was the day she was transferring schools.

Seiko held her hands together and smiled. "It will sure get lonely without you, Suzume-chan. Even if you're moving away, it's not that far right?" She had an idea. "So when winter break comes, we'll all make sure to come visit you."

Ms. Yui Shishido piped up now. She smiled at the thought of them staying together. Even though Ms. Yui was there teacher, Mayu considered her a friend. "Maybe I will tag along as their guardian."

"It's decided then!" Ayumi said looking back at Mayu. "I'll definately have more scary stories to tell by then."

"You really love those, huh..." Yoshiki Kishinuma, Ayumi's close friend and secret admirer put his input in. Yoshiki sure did look like a thug, but he'd only hurt those who hurt him or the ones he cared about.

"Got a problem with that?!"

His face changed to fearful almost instantaniously. "N-Nope..."

Ms. Yui laughed at the two while Mayu stared in awe. She then began to laugh along with them. "I'll be looking forward to them."

"Suzumoto-san." Mayu looked up at Ayumi. "We'll always be friends."

Mayu then began to cry. She laced her fingers together so tightly her knuckles turned white, she smiled despite her tears. "Everyone...Thanks. I'm really glad that I have met you all. I'll never forget you guys."

"Mayu." Morishige's voice rang out behind her. It pained her that this was the last time she'd see him. "Just how long are you going to cry?" He pulled out his cell phone and set it to camera. He walked around her and smiled brightly. "Come on, smile."

Mayu wiped her eyes, she was unaware she had begun crying but she simply couldn't help herself. It was too emotional, these were her friends and this was also goodbye. They had unbrakeable bonds that would last a lifetime. How do you just say goodbye to all them?

She looked up at Morishige's smile and the war currently going on in her head shut up. She blushed and smiled widely as he snapped the picture.

"Okay, everyone gather in a circle around this Sachiko-San doll and in your head repeat the words, 'Sachiko-san we beg of you". Ayumi counted the people in front of her. "Repeat it nine times, alright? Don't worry if you flub a little, just don't stop partway through. You have to say it once for every person present. No more, no less, or else the charm will fail."

Yoshiki added added obnoxiously. "I wonder what happens if the charm fails..." though his comment was ignored.

Mochida looked at them and stepped forward. "I'm getting a little nervous now...''

"Well then, let's get started!" She smiled. "In your head repeat 'Sachiko-san, we beg of you' nine times, got it?" Not waited for a response, she said. "Ready, and, go!"

Mayu along with everyone else closed their eyes and repeated the charm nine times exactly. The clock on the far wall of the classroom ticked along with them and after about ten seconds Ayumi opened her eyes. "Did everyone make sure to repeat it nine times?"

"Yeah." Everyone said in sync.

"Okay, now everyone hold out your hands." She clutched the paper doll close to her chest. "Grab hold of the Sachiko-san doll wherever you can."

She held out the Sachiko doll and everyone grabbed hold of it. Mayu and Morishige's hands brushed past each other, but neither made any point in noticing it.

Ayumi looked down at the doll. "Yup like that, now hold on really tightly. We're going to hold on until it rips apart, alright? Ready, and pull!"

There was a sudden flash of lightning when the doll ripped. It was merely coincedence though, because of the heavy rain that had been occuring as of late. This still didn't change the fact that Mochida gasped and jumped back like a wuss.

"Nicely done." Ayumi clapped her hands together. "Now, keep this scrap of paper somewhere safe like your student ID case, or your wallet. Don't lose it!"

Mayu placed hers into her Student ID case at the same time as Morishige placed his into his wallet.

Kishinuma took a step forward. "So this scrap has meaning to it?"

"As long as we all have that piece, we'll always be connected as friends. That's how the charm works."

"Hmm...that sounds pretty nice." Naomi, another one of Mayu and Morishige's classmates said. She has a big crush on Mochida, though she'd never admit it to anyone other that Seiko. The two of them are practically glued at the hip.

"It's absolutely wonderful!" Seiko added. "I'll be careful not to lose my piece."

Mayu's eyes lit up as she smiled at her friend. "Shinozaki-san, thank you! I'll treasure it." She paused. "Let's all meet again!"

"It's a promise."

"Well then," Ms. Yui placed her hands on her hips. "I think it's about time we all pack up and go home."

"Yes!" Everyone said at once.

Just then, the earth began to shake. Desks nearby rattled around and came about an inch of the floor. "What's going on?" Naomi asked.

"A-An earthquake?" Mayu's voice shook as she said the words. Morishige who stood behind her once more did not seemed concerned in the slightest about this.

The entire ground let out a loud thud as objects below, above, and near them were thrown around. Naomi and Seiko screamed at this and shook in fear.

"Everyone, get under the desks!" Ms. Yui took control of the situation and pointed towards the desks on the other side of the room as they jumbled around.

A nearby window cracked in various places and a light fixture fell to the floor, smashing in the process. Ceiling tiles fell as the earth began to calm.

"Is everybody okay?" Ms. Yui asked as she calmly glanced around at her students. Everyone seemed to be okay, just a little shooken up.

And then, as Ms. Yui breathed a sigh of relief, the ground under them collapsed sending them into darkness, but not before their screams of terror were heard echoing through the halls. Time felt as if it slowned around them for a few seconds.

"Mayu!" Morishige reached out to grab her and pull her close, possibly even protect her from the fall.

"Shig!" Mayu reached and tried to grab hold of him. She was scared and if she was about to die, she didn't want to die alone.

Their fingers brushed past each other and Morishige managed to grab her wrist as they plunged into the darkness.

XxX

"Mayu!" Morishige screamed, this time in utmost terror and he could recall all that had occured previously. He frantically looked around when he realized that he had been holding her wrist mere seconds ago. But, she was not in his arms, she was nowhere to be found. She should be nearby though. In this...School?

Glancing around, Morishige quickly realized this was the cursed Heavenly Host Elementry School that Ayumi had mentioned in her horror story earlier. Mayu had to be close though, she must've regained conciousness quicker than him and went to find help.

"Mayuuu!" He became desperate, he just wanted to get out of this place, Mayu must've been absolutely terrified. The thought of her shaking in a corner all curled up with her knees to her chest, crying, caused him to shiver.

He grabbed a nearby chair and began hitting the window closest to him. "What's going on?" He asked to no one in particular after hitting the window about seven times it should've broken.

"It's useless." A female voice called from behind him. For a split second he believed it to be Mayu. Turning around and expecting to see his petite friend standing behind him smiling, harsh reality set in as he laid eyes on Naho Saenoki standing there, her dead fish eyes stared right through him as if seeing him through murky water. "You can't return to the original world anymore."

"Who are you?!" He demanded, still holding the chair in his hands no longer as an offensive position but more of a defensive one.

She fixed her red rimmed glasses and spoke once more. "Just like the friends you came here with, there is nothing you can do but wait patiently."

Morishige took a step forward. There was still a part of him that believed this was all a bad dream, that he'd hit his head during the earthquake and Mayu was treating his wounds back in the normal world and he was going to wake up soon. But now that theory was blown to bits. "That I came here with?" He threw the chair backwards. "Does that mean Mayu is also here?!" The thought of her being scared was too much to bear. "Where is she!?"

Naho disappeared in front of him with a disapointed look on her face. "Hey, Wait!" He called out to her. "Where's Mayu? What do you mean by we can't return to our original world?!" Before he knew it, he was yelling at the air.

"Shig?..." Mayu's voice sounded hoarse and dry. She sounded as if she were struggling just to breathe.

"Mayu?!" Morishige tore off around the corner as a loud splat was heard. "Mayu?!" He stood over a fresh corpse and looked left to right. "Mayu? Where are you?!" He ran off down the coridor.

Little to know that the very person he was searching for was actually watching him run.

XxX

Mayu threw open the infirmary door and stepped inside. "Shig?" She called out and looked around. The infirmary appeared to be the only place with working lights.

Sitting down on one of the infirmary beds, she worked the pain out of her wrists. Morishige sure had held onto her. She wondered where he was now, he might even be looking for her this very second. "Shig..." He clearly wasn't in there, standing she realized the door had shut by itself. She pulled at the handle of the door but it didn't budge. "N-No way." She took a step back and tripped over a stool.

"Mayu?!" She heard Morishige call out to her. She fought with the door, pulling on it with all her strength.

"Shig! I'm in here, Shig!" When she didn't recieve a response she fell to her knees once again. "Shig...was I not loud enough?"

As she sat there in the infirmary she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. "Shig?" Turning, she noticed three children just standing there grinning at her. "Shig!"

XxX

Ms. Yui read the Heavenly Post, the school's newspaper. This issue was specifically revolving around the murders/kiddnapppings that had occured at the school.

"_The Brutal Deaths have now been tracked back to the hands of a teacher found in the room with scissors he held are confirmed to have been used to cut out the victims' tongues,leading to death through excessive blood lloss or choking. One of the child victims even had the majority of her head slowly and methodically removed..." _

"How horrible..." Ms. Yui's face was flooded with light as she reached the front of the infirmary. Voices could be heard from the other side of the door. At hearing Mayu's voice among them she skidded to a halt and mad a dash for the door.

"Is that right?" Mayu's laughter sounded generally happy, she seemed to be making new friends.

"Suzumoto-san?" Ms. Yui slid the door across and stepped inside. Perhaps her ears had decieved her. "Suzumoto-san..."

Mayu sat on a tiny stool and laughed along with the girl who had lost her eye and the girl whose face had been torn off. For the girl missing the eye it looked almost...normal, but to see a girl with missing half her face laughing was more than unerving.

"Those children are...!" She recognized them immediately from the newspaper. Those were the children who were killed by Yoshikazu Yanagihori.

"Ah, Ms. Shishido!" Mayu turned to look at her, as did the children. They all looked so happy then. Then again, they were only children. "That's right. This is the beloved Ms. Yui." They laughed again. "Yeah, I really love school too!" Mayu appeared to be havving a one-sided conversation.

"S-Suzumoto-san..." Ms. Yui walked towards Mayu confidently. She had to get Mayu out of there. Even if she wasn't aware of it, she was in great danger.

"I also love the teachers!" She continued to chat as if nothing was wrong. "You guys are the same, right?" They began to ghostly giggle along with her.

"Suzumoto-san! Snap out of it! Listen to me right now! You have to get away from them as fast as you-"

"It's alright, Ms. Yui. These kids aren't bad at all. They're actually very pitiable."

"That's something I know well!" She assumed the defensive. "But-"

"Ms. Yui...I can't just leave these kids alone. That's why I'm going to stay here." Mayu smiled again and looked at her teacher.

"You can't Suzumoto-san!" She took a few steps closer. "We have to find the others and leave!"

"Everyone?"

"Morishige-kun must be worried about you too." It was a low move, but it had gotten Mayu to snap out of whatever daze she was in.

"Shig..."

Ms. Yui walked closer still and attempted to grab her. "Now, come with me and we'll-"

Thrown backwards by some unidentible force, Ms. Yui toppled through the air at high speed. "Suzumoto-san is my adorable student! So please! Give her back!"

At this point the girl missing her left eye had snapped. She quietly ordered her friend to grab Mayu's legs with her.

"What's wrong?" Mayu asked with mild hysteria in her voice.

Dragging her out of the infirmary, the two ghosts were merciless. Mayu's face ground on the floor as she was dragged at super-human speed down the hallway. She was then thrown into the wall with a dry call out to her friend. "Shig!"

XxX

Unable to find Mayu, Morishige sat alone on the second floor staircase. "Where could you be, Mayu?" He was looking at the picture he'd taken when they'd last seen one another. "If I'm not with you, it's obvious you'll be in trouble...that's what I'd thought, but I was wrong. You...your face...that voice that calls me 'Shig'...I was being saved by you instead! Mayu...please..." He threw his head into his hands and allowed his hair to fall through his fingers. "...Don't leave me by myself..."

_Please don't cry. I heard you. _

"Damn it!" Pulling out his cell phone he looked through the many pictures of corpses he had taken while searching for Mayu. "I have to look at the suffering of others! I'm still sane. I'm...still..." A wide smile broke out across his face. It didn't suit him. "I sure have taken a lot of corpses, havven't I? It's strange. They're all real, but to me, they look like fakes. Nothing but props." He then gasped loudly.

_No. _

Drawing his face closer to the screen, he began laughing. "This one is the flashiest by far." Mayu's corpse was presented on his cell phone screen. "It's amazing...this lump of meat...To think this was once a human being..." He gasped again, louder this time and began rubbing his head. "No! NO! I don't have time to-"

His cell phone began to ring. A shocked look washed over his face. "I thought there was no service here. Is it broken?" He pressed the talk button and put the phone up to his ear. "I can hear something."

"...on't look...Don't look..."

"Mayu!"

"Don't look...at my...insides...Don't look..." His face changed from pleasently surprised to downright terrified. _Mayu's insides? _He looked down at the phone and suddenly realized. _Mayu...no..._"Shige-nii..."

Morishige let out a scream and dropped his phone. "NO! Mayu, we were supposed to leave here together! MAYU!" Tears began to fall freely from his face. "Don't leave me Mayu...Please."

XxX

"Onii-chan!" Yuka was running through the halls in a panicked frenzy. She had just been attacked and now her brother was nowhere to be found. A loud crushing sound could be heard. "Onii-chan?"

Entering a nearby classroom, Yuka saw Morishige standing over a long-dead corpse, beating it repeatedly with a lead pipe. Taking out his cell phone, he snapped a picture and turned around. "Oh~ You are...Mochida's little sister..." He was covered in blood and clearly was not in his right mind. "Geez, you probably think I've gone crazy, huh...to find me doing this to a corpse!"

With another swing, the corpse's eyeball popped out of it's skull. "What happened to Mochida?"

Yuka took a step back as Morishige swung the crowbar over his shoulder. "Onii-chan...disappeared..."

He smiled at her, and if it hadn't been for the fact he was covered in blood, his smile could have been considered seductive. "You're shaking. You poor thing. Come here, I'll help you find him."

"No...Um..." Yuka backed towards the doorway. "It's fine, Yuka'll look on her own-"

"Didn't I just say I'd help you find your brother?" He cut her off and took a step forward. _No...This isn't me. Run, Yuka!_

"B-But..."

A wide sadistic smile spread across his face. "You just don't understand, do you? Just get over here and let me 'help' you already!"

_Shige-nii, please, don't hurt her!_

Morishige held the crowbar above his head, stopping for a few seconds as if Mayu's words had, in fact, reached him. Yuka gasped and tore off down the hallway. Shaking his head, he ran after her, laughing as he did so.

Quickly losing sight of her, he walked down an empty hallway. "Why are you running away?" He laughed again, all sanity had been lost on him. "Quit hiding and come out! I have something important to talk to you about. You made a promise to Mayu that time in school, didn't you? That we'd always be together."

Quivering, Yuka had found a tiny hole in the broken floorboards to hide in. "That's why I want to give you the same look that Mayu has in my cellphone..." Yuka covered her mouth to contain from crying out.

Morishige had lost his mind.

"If I do that, Mayu won't be sad anymore, right? Please, come out already! I'm begging you!" He let out a maniacal laugh and walked away.

Tears streamed down Yuka's face. "Answer me already...Onii-chan..."

"Playing hide and seek in a place like this?" A black haired stranger questioned her. Yuka gasped and crawled backward. He looked down at her with sensitive, sweet eyes. "You were saying 'Onii-chan' but..."

Yuka calmed down slightly. "Yes...I got seperated from my big brother..."

"I see." He pulled his face back and gave her some space to crawl out. "Actually, I'm looking for my sister. Would you like to look for them together?"

"I'm a second year at Byakudan High, Kizami Yuuya." Kizami extended his hand to her.

"I-I'm Mochida Yuka." She accepted her hand and allowed him to pull her out of the hole.

XxX

Kizami and Yuka walked down the dark, non-lit hallway, making small talk. "Did you preform the Sachiko-san charm and end up trapped here too?" He asked her, one hand lazily in his pocket and his red, school jacket slung over his shoulder.

"Um...That's...I don't know..."

Kizami smiled down at her cute action. "I see."

"So, you were here, huh?"

Morishige stood behind them, Cellphone out and crowbar slung over his shoulder. "I told you to come here."

Yuka made a dash to hide behind Kizami, he turned to look down at her. "Isn't he an aquaintance of yours?"

"Please help me..." She begged him.

Sudden realization hit him. "I see, so that's why you were hiding back there." He turned his attention to Morishige.

"Who the hell are you?" He held out the cellphone. "Do you want to join Mayu inside this cellphone as well?" He let out another maniacal laugh. "That's wonderful!"

"Yuka-chan, you stay here." Kizami pulled off his jacket and ran at Morishige. He copied this with his crowbar.

Pulling a Ballistic knife out of his jacket. Morishige faltered for a second and missed his swing at Kizami. Kizami took advantage of this and stabbed him in the jugular vein.

Yuka let out a scream as Morishige spat up blood. Kizami twisted the knife in further and pulled it's jagged edge out. Morishige's blood sprayed onto his face, but he had no intention of moving.

Morishige fell to the ground and began convulsing, as the body does as it nears death. He struggled for air and his sanity returned to him as he fought for survival.

Turning to the shaking Yuka, Kizami, covered in blood smiled at her. "Onii-chan will protect you." _I have to protect her. This man is a dangerous. _Yuka jumped slightly and gasped. "After all...you are my precious little sister."

"Onii-chaaaan!" Yuka screamed for Mochida to come to her rescue.

"I'll do what you wished for.'' Kizami said, snapping a picture of Morishige dying. Yuka was frozen in fear, she couldn't believe this man had any murderous intent, he'd seemed so kind when he helped her out of that hole.

He threw the cellphone at him and smiled. "Yuka-chan..." He said under his breath. "You can't escape from here. Everyone will definitely die. That's why..." He turned around. "Until our final moments...we will be siblings." She jumped a foot in the air as he turned the full way around. "You don't want to be killed by the ghosts here, right? Don't worry. I won't let that happen. I will protect you from such a fate. And...I will be the one to end it..."

She shook all over and tears sprung to her eyes. "You...and that tiny life of yours that is."

Suddenly there was an earthquake that shook the entire hallway. Yuka fell to her knees and screamed, Kizami gasped and regained his footing, and Morishige fell in and out of conciousness.

_Forgive me, Mayu. _

And then he died.

XxX

Snapping his eyes open, Morishige quickly darted his head left to right. A quick sudden jolt of pain was his reward for such an action. "Where am I?" Somehow all this seemed familiar, but at the same time it felt very different.

Many corpses littered the floor, which looked almost scrap-booked together. Next to one corpse was a newspaper. It was yellow and old, _how long have I been here? _he wondered to himself. He also wondered how he wasn't dying, he had clearly been stabbed in the neck, how wasn't he dead yet. Or maybe he was dying, he just had the strength to take a few more steps. Any breath could be his last, any step could be too much for his tired body to handle.

He picked up the newspaper and looked down at the ground. A black hole had replaced the newspaper, it was as if nothing existed below it. He brought the paper closer to his eyes as to enlarge the font. But it remained the same size, as if it was a photograph. He could make out the header though. "Heavenly Host Murders/Kidnapping."

He gasped and dropped the newspaper. "M-Mayu..." Hot tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. He sank to his knees and gripped his head in his hands. "Mayu!" He threw his head back and cried out.

He'd never shown this side of himself before. A scared, weak, and abandoned side of him. "P-Please, Mayu...don't leave me here." His memory was in havoc, he could remember that Mayu was dead and that he'd suffered the same fate. But, he had no idea where he was, this was definately Heavenly Host Elementry, but it looked..._different._

Putting one hand on the ground, he picked himself up and walked through the scrap-booked hell. The only things here were corpses, maybe it really was hell.

One corpse was different, though. It was just a pile of intrails stuck to a wall. "Mayu..." He'd recognized her corpse immediately. "Why...did it have to be you...Why couldn't it have been me?" He fell to knees and sobbed. Anyday he'd have taken Mayu's place and died for her. He never meant to leave her alone, or for it to come to this.

It was a charm that was meant for hapiness. Why did it turn out like this?

"Shig."

Morishige recognized that voice. Mayu.

He turned around, only to collapse. _Dammit! No, you're going to obey me this one last time!_ He demanded his legs to stand, and they obeyed him reluctantly. "Mayu?"

Arms wrapped around his chest and pulled him close. "Shig, I'm so sorry." Mayu was crying tears of sorrow, pain, and happiness all at once. "I never wanted to leave you. I wanted to leave there with you. Is there any way you can forgive me?"

Morishige froze for a second. He didn't dare move, for fear that she would disappear into thin air once more. "T-This can't be real. You...you died. I saw your corpse."

"Shig," Crying once more, Mayu grabbed hold of him with the intention to never let go. "I'm really here."

He remained frozen for a few more seconds, then he gripped onto Mayu and cried. "Mayu...I was so scared...I felt lost without you...please, don't leave me again." He began to sob uncontrollably, struggling for air against his pain. The pain from dying had begun to sink in and he could no longer stand.

Collapsing to his knees, Morishige gripped Mayu's shoulder. "Shige!" She fell to the ground with him. "Shig, look at me, you're okay. Please..." Morishige's breathing stalled for a second. "...Don't leave me all alone again."

Morishige placed his hand onto her cheek, wet with saddened tears. "I-I'm sorry Mayu." She grabbed his hand and overlapped it. He was cold, too cold. "I would've loved to spend more time with you. God, even this was a blessing." He laughed weakly. "I still don't know how this happened...but, it means the world to me to see you once more, Mayu." His own tears fell down his face with no resistance.

"Your cellphone."

"What...Mayu?" He asked with his eyes never leaving her's.

"I'm only here because of you. Through your cellphone, I retained a physical form. Do you remember how you took that photo of me at school?" She didn't wait for a response. "I kept trying to call you but I only managed to get through the once." She gripped his hand harder and her tears fell onto his face. "I was so alone, Shig. But...I kept hope. I knew you'd find me, and save me."

"M-Mayu..."

"...And you did..." She leaned her face close to his and pressed there lips eyes closed peacefully and happily. His lips were cold, but his breath was warm. It invaded her mouth, her lungs, and before she knew it, she was breathing him. She removed her lips from his, for need of air. She felt like they were flying when they kissed and after all the times she wanted to but held back, she'd finally kissed him. "And now, it's my turn to save you..."

And then he stopped breathing.

Mayu sat there for a minute in total shock. "S-Shig?" He looked like he was at peace. She began to cry, she touched her forehead to his and kissed him one last time, lightly this time, rather than with hunger that she had contained all these years. "I will save you..." She repositioned him so he looked like he was asleep, rather than dead. "...It's a promise." She said as she left, not looking back.

XxX

Mayu collapsed to the ground, gasping from pain. She felt as if all her internal organs had been crushed and then brought back to normal. Letting out a scream, she collapsed clutching her chest.

_Is this what it's like to be brought back from the dead? _

Hot and salty tears began to roll down her cheeks. This pain was un-bareable, it was crushing and agonizing. Struggling to stand, she grabbed a nearby wall and assisted herself to stand. Her fingers brushed something wet.

She slowly drew her attention to the wall, her entrails began to dissapate into her own body, creating a physical form. Letting out a shrill scream, she fell backwards and began to crawl desprately away from it. Her former self mimiked her moves, slowly regenerating her.

Curling her body into a fetal position, Mayu let out a hoarse cry. "Shig..." And then she remembered. "Shig!"

Mayu stood on her feet and broke off into a run. "No..." She laid her eyes onto the the wall that should contain a door. "No...where is it?!'' She ran her hands over the wall frantically. "Please..." She pressed her head against the wall and closed her eyes. "...I have to save him, I don't have time for your puzzles, please..."

She felt the wall change against her head. Opening her eyes wide she threw open the door. _Finally, someone's on my side. _Running through the rain, Mayu muttered a few words. "Thank you."

Entering a nearby classroom, Yuka saw Morishige standing over a long-dead corpse, beating it repeatedly with a lead pipe. Taking out his cell phone, he snapped a picture and turned around. "Oh~ You are...Mochida's little sister..." He was covered in blood and clearly was not in his right mind. "Geez, you probably think I've gone crazy, huh...to find me doing this to a corpse!"

With another swing, the corpse's eyeball popped out of it's skull. "What happened to Mochida?"

Yuka took a step back as Morishige swung the crowbar over his shoulder. "Onii-chan...disappeared..."

He smiled at her, and if it hadn't been for the fact he was covered in blood, his smile could have been considered seductive. "You're shaking. You poor thing. Come here, I'll help you find him."

"No...Um..." Yuka backed towards the doorway. "It's fine, Yuka'll look on her own-"

"Didn't I just say I'd help you find your brother?" He cut her off and took a step forward. _No...This isn't me. Run, Yuka!_

"B-But..."

A wide sadistic smile spread across his face. "You just don't understand, do you? Just get over here and let me 'help' you already!"

Morishige held the crowbar above his head, stopping for a few seconds as if Mayu's words had, in fact, reached him. Yuka gasped and tore off down the hallway. Shaking his head, he ran after her, laughing as he did so.

Quickly losing sight of her, he walked down an empty hallway. "Why are you running away?" He laughed again, all sanity had been lost on him. "Quit hiding and come out! I have something important to talk to you about. You made a promise to Mayu that time in school, didn't you? That we'd always be together."

Quivering, Yuka had found a tiny hole in the broken floorboards to hide in. "That's why I want to give you the same look that Mayu has in my cellphone..." Yuka covered her mouth to contain from crying out.

Morishige had lost his mind.

"If I do that, Mayu won't be sad anymore, right? Please, come out already! I'm begging you!" He let out a maniacal laugh and walked away.

Tears streamed down Yuka's face. "Answer me already...Onii-chan..."

Mayu ran up the stairs, she was much too out of breath to call out to Morishige. All she could do was hope she was quicker than him. _Please be alright...Shig, I'm coming...hold on!_

"So, you were here, huh?"

Morishige stood behind them, Cellphone out and crowbar slung over his shoulder. "I told you to come here."

Yuka made a dash to hide behind Kizami, he turned to look down at her. "Isn't he an aquaintance of yours?"

"Please help me..." She begged him.

Sudden realization hit him. "I see, so that's why you were hiding back there." He turned his attention to Morishige.

"Shig..." Mayu watched onward behind Morishige as he waved around a crowbar and threatened Yuka. He's not himself, and that guy over there's definately bigger than him. I have to stop this.

"Who the hell are you?" He held out the cellphone. "Do you want to join Mayu inside this cellphone as well?" He let out another maniacal laugh. "That's wonderful!"

"Yuka-chan, you stay here."

Mayu? Oh no, this is all my fault! "Shig!" Mayu called out and ran in front of him just as the man, Kizami pulled out a Ballistic Knife. She caught the blade between her hands, crying out in pain all the while.

"...Mayu?" He collapsed to his knees and stared up at her. "Y-You're alive...?" He began to cry, a single quick tear. "Where...What...Mayu..." He broke down, dropping the crowbar onto the ground with a loud clang.

Red blood dripped from between her fingers, that was going to be quite the scar later. Yuka looked at her and ran forward. "Mayu-senpai!" She ran forward and hugged her, causing Kizami to remove the knife. "Morishige and I thought you were dead."

"I know...I thought I was too."

Kizami looked down at Yuka. "Yuka-chan, is this one of your friends?" Mayu could tell from the look in his eyes he meant Yuka no harm, if anything, he looked like her older brother, trying to watch over her. Yuka bounced her head up and down. "I see, well then..." he extended his hand to her but quickly drew it back. "Sorry about that. I'm Kizami Yuuya, a second year student at Byakuden High school."

"I'm Mayu Suzumoto, and I assume you've already met Shige-nii." She wiped her hand onto her pantleg and felt dizzy by the sight of how much blood she was losing. "No hard feelings, you were simply trying to protect Yuka-chan." She was pretty sure the only one there who could see through her acting was Morishige, but she still was quite scared none-the-less.

She smiled at him and fell back from blood-loss. "Mayu!" Morishige snapped out of his stunned daze and scrambbled forward, pulling her into his lap. "Mayu, no...I don't want to lose you again." His glasses fell down his nose and tears fell down his face onto her's.

Pushing his glasses up, Mayu smiled at him. "I can live through this, it's just a minor cut on the hand." She smiled at him and wiped away his tears. "Don't you worry about me, Shige-nii. I'm fine." She continued to smile at him, but she could tell by the look in his eyes he wasn't buying her acting there. This was what sucked about being best friends with other drama members, they can alway tell when you're lying or acting. Her smile quickly disappeared as it was replaced by tears. "Shig!"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. "I was so scared and alone. It hurt so much Shig, but I was uncapable to stop it! I've never been so scared, Shig!" She tightened her grip when she felt herself falling. "Please...Don't leave me Shig."

Pulling her closely against his chest, Morishige wrapped his arms around her. "I won't Mayu, I won't!" He sobbed and kissed the top of her head. He tightened her grip around her chest and would not let go, for fear he would lose her again.

From the corner of her eye Mayu caught glimpse of a blue spirit. "Yuki!" Mayu remembered the girl's name from when they had talked earlier. Morishige continued to hold onto her, though he looked up at the ghost girl as well.

Yuki's ghost seemed...different now, not as resentful as before. She was shifting foot to foot and her body twitched when Mayu said her name. "M-Mayu-chan." She stopped moving and froze in place. "I'm so sorry for hurting you. You were nothing but kind to Ryou, Tokiko, and I, but we did such a horrible thing to you." She appeared to be crying slightly. "Can you forgive me?"

"Of course I can!" She smiled at her and looked down at Morishige for a split second, before reverting her attention to Yuki. "You seem different from before, what happened?"

"One of your friends appeased our ghosts by returning what had been stolen from us. The barrier around the school is temporarily thin. I suspect it will be done repairing itself within minutes." She looked from Mayu and Morishige to Yuka and Kizami. "I can return you all to your school right now, but this offer will not last long."

Yuka drew in air as if she'd been holding her breath. "But...Onii-chan."

Kizami looked down at her and grabbed her hand. "He'll be fine, I'm sure he'd be more worried if you were still here. And besides," He squeezed her hand. "I would not be able to go without you."

Yuka blushed and looked down at his hand which currently trapped her's. Turning around and looking into the dark corridor. "Onii-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!" She belted with all her strength. After a five second count and no reply she turned around again and looked at the ground, nodding slightly.

"Okay, I'll return you all back to Kiasragi Academy now." Yuki waved her hand and out of thin air a dark portal appeared. She looked at Mayu and Morishige, smiling as she did so. "Is that him?" She asked.

Mayu blushed furriously and stared at Morishige before looking down at the ground. "Y-Yeah." She stuttered.

He jumped slightly and blushed as well. "Mayu, what does she mean?"

Yuki laughed and asked them to follow her through the portal. Through it, Mayu could see classroom 2-9 in all its glory.

Stumbling about, Mayu managed to stand, still quite dizzy. "Here..." Morishige with the lightest of touches, adjusted her arm, so that it was wrapped around his neck. "Are you better, Mayu?"

She nodded and walked through the portal. "Yeah, thanks."

"I'm glad." He smiled at her, though he remained shaken up. "We're almost home Mayu!" He could see the end of the portal clearly through here. It was definately class 2-9.

"I know Shig," She paused and grinned widely at him. "I know."

The bright light on the other end of the portal embraced them, welcoming them home. A place Mayu expected never to see again. Tears sprung to her dry eyes, she was finally home, and Morishige was with her. She couldn't have wished for a happier ending.

Upon their enterance, Yoshiki Kishinuma jumped to his feet. "Yuki, please take me back, Shinozaki's in danger, I have to help her..." He trailed off as he saw Morishige, Mayu, Yuka, and a fourth individual he'd never seen before. "Suzumoto-san?..." Clearly he'd found out that she'd died.

"I'm afraid that may not be possible." She looked saddened by this. "I'm afraid that once the barrier for Heavenly Host repairs itself, I will become a vengeful spirit once more. I can already feel the darkening corrupting my soul." She stared down at the floorboards. "Once you've made it back I fear that my previous self with try to harm you."

His attention was drawn back to Yuki. "That's a chance I'm willing to take!" He yelled and stepped forward, trying to persuade her. "Every second I waste here could be Shinozaki's last. Please..."

"You might die!"

He took a half-step back as to steady himself. "And so might she! I still don't see your point here. We have to save her...er...I have to save her."

Yuki opened the portal back to Heavenly Host. "Goodbye Mayu, I wish you the best of luck with your...um..." She smiled and giggled at her and Morishige.

"Goodbye Yuki. I'm sorry things turned out the way they did."

Yuki nodded and left, Kishinuma following at her heels.

Yuka was moving around a lot behind them. "Is everything OK Yuka?" Kizami asked her, he showed much concern in his eyes. Clearly he cared for her. "You seem to be fidgeting quite a bit."

"I still have to pee."

Mayu looked at her. "Oh, this isn't the Junior High, you probably don't know where the bathrooms are." She smiled at her like a big sister would. "There right across from class 2-5, that's four classrooms _that way." _She pointed to her left and then lowered her arm. "Are you okay with going alone?"

Yuka looked down at the floorboards, blushing as she did so. "I-I guess so. We're not back in that creepy Elementry after all."

Kizami squeezed her hand. "I'll go with you."

Yuka quickly looked up at him, she was still blushing, but now it had deepened. "But...but you're a _boy!_ Boys don't go into the girl's washroom."

Letting out a quick laugh at her cute innocence, he released her hand. "I won't go in." He put a hand over his heart and the other in the air. "I promise."

"Oh, OK." Kizami took her hand again and walked her to the door. Yuka quickly waved goodbye and ran of to her right, before turning around and remembering it was the other way.

Mayu laughed at her and looked at Morishige. He was staring at her hand quite nervously. "Mayu..." He averted his gaze to the floor beneath her hand, where a pile of blood had acumeulated.

"Hmm?"

"You're losing too much blood, we have to seal up that wound." He helped her walk over to a nearby chair. "I'll find some you some bandages, or gauze, or literally anything."

Searching through desks resulted in pencils, scrap pieces of paper, and old chewing gum. Nothing useful. "Aren't teachers supposed to keep this stuff handy in the classrooms?" Hitting himself in the forehead he walked over to Mr. Yamazaki and Ms. Yui's desk and threw oppen the drawers.

By the second try, he'd managed to find a first aid kit. "Thank god..." He returned to Mayu and sat down on his knees. He took her left hand and opened the first aid kit. "We have to disinfect this, Okay?" Mayu nodded and he looked her in the eyes. "This is going to hurt."

He searched through the first aid until he found the antiseptic wipes. Lightly dapping onto the wound was practically ineffective. He threw the wipe on the ground and sighed. Mayu kept her eyes shut and Morishige picked up the bottle of hydrogen peroxide and uncapped it. "Mayu, put your hands together." She still didn't open her eyes as she obeyed his orders. "I'm sorry about this..."

Morishige poured the contents of the bottle onto her hands and closed his own eyes, he couldn't bear to watch. Mayu let out a bone-chilling scream and drew her hands back. Saying that it hurt would be an understatement. It _killed._

Though Mayu had experienced much worse pain, both physical and emotional, she still cried and screamed out. "Mayu!" Morishige pulled her against him, trying to calm her down and soothe the pain. "It's okay...shhh, you're okay now." She still whimpered and shook but she wasn't screaming anymore. "I'm going to put the gauze on now, OK?" He wiped away her tears and reached for the guaze, which he had left in the first aid kit.

Unrolling the guaze, he took her left hand and wrapped it tightly around her palm, stopping above the thumb. "There! We're halfway done." He grabbed the scissors in the first aid kit, as well as some medical tape. He cut the guaze and placed a piece of medical tape on the bandages to keep them down.

"Hey Mayu..." He unrolled the guaze and mirrored his actions from before on her right hand. "...Do you rememeber...when we were doing the play 'crime and punishment'?" He reached for the scissors and snipped the guaze's extra material away. Mayu nodded, curious where he was going with this. "...And I rehersed for the role of Raskolnikov, but then I chickened out. Later we both skipped drama rehersal and went to that crepe stand because you wanted to try that new flavour on their menu. Dammit! What was it?!"

"Chocolate Bananas." She replied with a smile.

"Yeah..." He laughed and looked up at her. "Anyway...I heard they have a new flavour there, so I thought...maybe we could go check it out whenever you come back to town."

"Yeah, I'd like that." They both smiled and stood. "I'm glad you're okay. I just kept looking for you...and then when I recieved that phone call...I thought you were dead."

They just stood there staring at each other. Neither of them knew what to say, Mayu was traumatized by the things she'd seen, and Morishige had lost his mind. He continued to make small talk, though Mayu had tuned him out, she just simply watched his lips form words. "So...I hear that it's going to be still raining tomorr..."

And then Mayu did something completely unexpected. She took a step towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tip-toes. She then closed her eyes and kissed him.

He remained for a second, and Mayu pulled back. She'd come to realize that she'd kissed a different version before. So this was the first time they had, in fact, kissed. She took a step back and put a hand over her mouth. Her pale skin turned bright pink. "I'm so sorry, Shig. I don't know what came over me!"

He didn't respond, he simply took a step forward and wrapped his arms around her waist and tilted his head down so that their faces were inches away from each. "S-Shig..." Her breathing stalled and she closed her eyes, also wrapping her thin arms around his neck. She'd never felt this fragile on her entire life.

She felt she would collapse at any second. And then their lips touched. Her knees fell weak and she collapsed, or almost did. Morishige picked her off the ground lightly and kissed her until she felt like she might never breathe again. She didn't mind.

She slid her hand up into his soft dark blue hair. She began to breathe him again, but this time, he was more in control. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't stop. He held onto her like she was the only real thing left in this world, like she was the most precious thing he'd ever laid eyes on.

Morishige pulled back slightly. He opened his eyes at the same time as Mayu. She smiled and touched her forehead to his. "You...can put me down now..." She managed to get out in between breaths.

"I won't...Until you promise me...not to leave..." He responded, tightening his grip on her waist. His unblinking eyes burned with hunger for her. She could tell from the way he was pulling her against his chest that he was not joking, and she would have to make that promise.

"So...crepes?"

He laughed and set her down on the ground. "It's a date. Oh, I was lying about the new flavours there." He breathed in deeply and still held her tightly against him.

Letting out a laugh, she hugged him. "I know. I'm only staying for the chocolate Bananas."

He released her and stumbled backward cluthching his chest. "I am hurt! Why would you say such a thing?" He looked at her for a second and then he smiled. He grabbed her and picked her up. "But chocolate bananas or not, you just said you're staying. And that's good enough for me."

She hugged him and wept tears of joy. Morishige stopped smiling and looked down at her. "Mayu? Why are you crying." He put two fingers under her chin and looked into her eyes. "Was it something I said?"

She shook her head frantically and smiled at him again. "These are tears of _joy _Shig. I'm happy, I never wanted to leave here. But now, now I have a reason to stay."

"Chocolate bananas?"

She laughed and shook her head. "No Shig, you." She pressed her lips against his. "I'll just have to find some place to stay."

He smiled against her mouth. "You can always stay at my place." His voice was no louder than a whisper. "Or I can move out, and get an apartment for us to share, we'll both have to get jobs, sure. But it's better than the alternative."

"Y-You're sure?"

The classroom door swung open and Yuka ran in, Kizami close at her heels. She looked much happier then she had before. Morishige and Mayu jumped apart quickly, Morishige cleared his throat and Mayu stared at the ground.

Yuka ran over to Mayu and hugged her. "Mayu-chan, do you _really_ have to leave?" Clearly she'd been eavesdropping, but she didn't want to hint at it. "Please stay...please."

"Well..." She looked down at the girl's puppy dog eyes. "OK, but just because you're so cute. I mean come on! Who could say 'no' to that face?" She hugged her back. "You must be so tired, how about we all take a nap while we wait for the others?"

Yuka jumped with joy. "Yeah, Onii-chan will be mad if I don't get a full night's sleep." She dragged Mayu over to the wall and sat down. "You can sleep next to me Mayu-chan!"

Mayu felt restless, she'd been through too much trauma today to even think about sleeping. She'd seen people die, including herself and Morishige. She'd been brought back from the dead, and trapped in a cellphone. She was unsure if she'd ever sleep again. "Actually, I was going to stay awake for a little while, and if I fell asleep, who'd wake you up when your big brother returned?"

"Please Mayu-chan..."

Sliding down the parallel wall, Kizami took his jacket from his shoulder and wrapped it around himself. "Yuka, I'm sure that your...big brother will be fine." He gritted his teeth as he said 'big brother'.

He wanted Yuka all to himself and if her brother was around he was sure that she would not stay with him. Yuka looked at him for a few seconds and smiled. He was always thinking about her happiness this whole time, she thought. "Kizami-san..." Yuka noticed that Kizami reminded her of her big brother.

She hoped his sister was okay.

Running across the room, Yuka sat down next to Yuuya. "Thank you." She rested her head on his shoulder and was within minutes fast asleep. The little girl had also experienced many terrors within the last 24 hours, but laying next to Kizami, she had somehow managed to fall asleep.

Her nightmares of corpses and gore were kept at bay in the mans arms. He patted her head lightly, ruffling her hair in the process. He really did look like he could be her older brother.

_Why haven't I hurt her? Isn't that what I do? _Sitting next to her, Kizami felt his eyelids grow heavy. He didn't know anymore.

Throughout his whole life he was incapable of feeling sympathy. So why? Why was he sparing these people? Was this little girl really changing him, turning him into a better man? That was an impossibility, she was just a little girl after all.

Looking down at little Yuka, he knew he had to make a desicion. In one hand he ran his fingers through her hair, and in the other he could feel the cold metal of the knife in his pocket.

Was there still a speck of hope for him? As he contimplated this he had noticed the stares of Mayu and Morishige. Mayu sat down on the other side of the room and quickly averted her attention to the blackboard. "I don't know if Mochida-kun is coming back. But, If he doesn't..." She leaned against the wall. "Be there for her, OK?"

Kizami looked down at Yuka, who had suddenly grabbed his arm. "Onii-chan..." She whimpered in her sleep. She must have been having a nightmare about losing her big brother. All Kizami could do was assure her that her brother was just fine.

"I hope for her sake that Mochida-kun will return home safely." Mayu could only imagine what the damage of losing Satoshi would do on a little girl like Yuka. She shuddered at the thought.

Yuka may have been fourteen, but she acted like she was still eight. She was raised up as the baby of the family, so suddenly becoming an only child would be very tough for her. It would be very tough for any child.

"Please...Mochida-kun...don't leave her all alone."

XxX

"What about Yuka?!" Satoshi demanded of the others. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving his little sister in this type of place. "I can't just leave her here all alone!"

Kishinuma snapped and grabbed him by the collar if his shirt. "You're sister is safe at Kasaragi high! She's waiting for you, how many times do I have to explain that to you?!" Kishinuma had seen Yuka, Mayu, Morishige return with another man and the ghost Yuki Kanno when he'd been brought back to Heavenly Host Elementry to assist Shinozaki.

Satoshi pushed away his friend and fell backward. "How would you know?!"

A loud slap sound echoed far into the distance as Kishinuma's hand made impact with Satoshi's face. "Snap out of it! If you stay here, you'll be abandoning her!"

Tears began welling up in Satoshi's eyes. Kishinuma extended his hand to him and he accepted it. "Come on man. Let's get home."

"Mochida-kun..." Naomi muttered under her breath at Satoshi's actions. She'd never seen him this worked up before. Not even when Ayumi had read her ghost story earlier, or during the entire time here at Heavenly Host.

"We don't have any more time to waste, put your paper scraps together!" Ayumi yelled at them and they obeyed. "Now repeat 'Sachiko-san, we beg of you' once for each person present and once for Sachiko herself."

Everyone nodded and looked at one another.

"Sachiko-san we beg of you!" Naomi whispered.

"Sachiko-san we beg of you!" Kishinuma nodded and looked at Ayumi.

"Sachiko-san we beg of you!" Satoshi said, more determend than ever that he was going home, he would see Yuka again, and they'd go home together.

"Sachiko-san we beg of you!" Ayumi yelled to the sky and cried out in joy.

"SACHIKO-SAN WE BEG OF YOU!" They called together, making sure that their paper scraps were in fact together.

XxX

And then they were back in class 2-9. All...three...of them...

Ayumi Shinozaki and Satoshi Mochida each held one of Naomi's arms, completely missing a torso to be attached to.

"N-Nakashima-chan?..." Ayumi asked with a hoarse call. She then suddenly threw one of Naomi's arms to the ground and began screaming. "NO! T-This isn't how it was supposed to happen!" Kishinuma wrapped his arms around Ayumi and pulled her into a supportive hug.

Having gone into a form of shock Satoshi just sat there, holding Naomi's severed arm. He was ghostly pale and he looked as if he might pass out at any second. "Naomi..."

The other four who had been resting suddenly woke up and looked around at the three who'd woken them up. Mayu covered her mouth to keep herself from vomiting, and Yuka smiled at her brother. "Onii-chan!" Her smile quickly darkened as she realized what he was holding. "...Onii-chan..."

Kizami placed his hands over her eyes and hugged her. "Yuka...Don't look."

"Nakashima...chan..." She wept and collapsed against Kizami. She'd only met Naomi mere hours ago, but she considered her a friend.

"Yuka..." Satoshi looked at the stranger who held his little sister defensively. _That should be me, I should be the one holding Yuka like that. Who does he think he is?! _He dropped the arm that was once Naomi Nakashima and then he realized what was going on.

His defening scream was heard throughout the halls of Kisaragi Academy. "Naomi!" He scrambled backwards. "No...why'd it have to turn out like this?...Naomi!"


End file.
